ARLINGTON, Texas – An exciting slate of UTA softball kicks off on Feb. 9 as first-year coach Peejay Brun released the upcoming campaign on Friday.

Coming off the team's first trip to the postseason since 2003, the Mavericks look to build on a 32-win season that was capped off by a trip to the National Invitational Softball Championship. The 2018 schedule kicks off in Baton Rouge, La. on Feb. 9 with games against Syracuse and LSU, the first of seven against teams from Power 5 conferences. Season and individual game tickets will go on sale on Dec. 8.

"I'm excited about this year's schedule and the competition that we will be playing," Brun said. "I've added some tough opponents during preseason and midweek games, which I believe are going to prepare us to be competitive in the Sun Belt Conference."

After games against UMass and Southern Miss in Baton Rouge, the Mavs host Texas Tech in the Allax Saxe Field opener on Feb. 13 at 3 p.m. The Mavs and Red Raiders are matchup up for the 17th time in the series history, eight of the meetings taking place since 2012.

UTA heads back onto the road for a tournament hosted by Jacksonville U and North Florida on Feb. 16-18 before returning back to the home confines. UTA welcomes Northwestern State for a midweek matchup on Feb. 21 and then host DePaul and Sam Houston State in a three-team tournament running Feb. 23-25.

The nonconference tournament portion of the schedule wraps up with a quick trip up I-35 to visit Metroplex rival North Texas in a tournament that features the hosts, Nicholls and Tulsa on March 2-4. UTA and the Mean Green have matched up all but one year since 2007 with UTA leading the rivalry 27-16.

The Mavs open Sun Belt play on March 10 at South Alabama for a three-game series. A five-game homestand welcomes the team back beginning on March 13 against Iowa State, March 14 against Incarnate Word and then a three-game series with Georgia State (March 17-18).

Following the stand, it will be a five-game road trip with UTA visiting SEC foe Arkansas for a doubleheader on March 20 and then the team's first visit to Coastal Carolina, a team that joined the Sun Belt in 2017.

After taking on Appalachian State at the Saxe, the longest trek of the campaign sees the Mavs on the road for seven consecutive to open April. The Mavs visit Houston Baptist on April 3, ULM on April 7-8, visit Oklahoma State on April 10 and close the trip with three against Georgia Southern on April 14-15.

Reaching the final stretch, Troy comes to Arlington on April 21-22 and reigning Sun Belt champion Louisiana visits for the final weekend of home play on April 28-29.

Action in the regular season closes out with in-state rival Texas State on May 4-5, a rivalry that heated up even more in 2017 with UTA taking the series on a walk-off win to close out SBC play last year.

Looking to make a splash once again, UTA will head to the Sun Belt Championship tournament on May 9 hosted by Louisiana in Lafayette, La. UTA reached the semifinals last season with thrilling wins against South Alabama and Georgia State before falling 1-0 to Texas State.

UTA features a lineup that contains three of the team's four Sun Belt All-Conference selections returning. Sandra Mendoza, Krista Rude and Aileen Garcia were both all-league selections in 2017, while Rude and Mendoza were both NFCA All-Region selections in 2016.

HOW TO BUY TICKETSFull season and single-game tickets to attend UTA baseball and softball events will be on sale on Friday, Dec. 8 through the UTA Box Office in person or by calling (817) 272-8585 and online throughUTATickets.com. Season tickets are available for as low as $75 for softball and $75 for baseball. Single-game tickets begin at $6, while tickets for Feb. 27th’s date vs. TCU and April 24 vs. OU begin at $10. Tickets for UTA’s matchup against Baylor at Globe Life Park on March 6 are $12. UTA students and faculty staff tickets are available for just $5 for a single game or at a reduced rate for season tickets. Visit UTATickets.com for detailed information.

FOLLOW THE MAVS SOCIALLY For up-to-date news, photos, videos and updates you can follow UTA sports program online at UTAMavs.com or via any of several social media accounts on Twitter @UTAMavs, Instagram @UTAMavs, Snapchat @UTAMavs and Facebook at UTArlingtonAthletics.